Narayani Zone

Narayani (Nepali: नारायणी अञ्चल Listen (help·info) is one of the fourteen zones of Nepal, in the central south of the country. Narayani Zone is named after the Narayani River which is on the western border of the zone, separating it from the Gandakiand Lumbini zones. Narayani means beloved of Narayan, and Narayan refers to Lord Vishnu (the preserver) in the Hindureligion.

Geography

Narayani contains parts of the Terai, Inner Terai, and Hill regions of Nepal, but it does not contain any of the Mountain or Himalayan region. Narayani is rich in flora and fauna. Considering the plain Terai, bordering India (to the south), where arnas (wild bulls) run to the hills from in fall, landscape structure of Narayani can be considered unique. Narayani River and Rapti River are the main rivers of Narayani zone. Bisharari and Garuda laked are some of the few lakes in Narayani.

Narayani is divided into five districts:

District	Type	Headquarters
Bara District	Outer Terai	Kalaiya
Chitwan District	Inner Terai	Bharatpur
Makwanpur District	Inner Terai	Hetauda
Parsa District	Outer Terai	Birganj
Rautahat District	Outer Terai	Gaur

History

Narayani used to be all forest: Settlement started after the Anglo-Nepal War. Devghat is in this area where people go for meditation. It is one of the most religious places of Nepal.

Economy

It is the third largest industrial area of the country. Hetauda is the industrial area where the Hetauda cement factory (government owned organization) is. The main transit point of business transaction is in Birganj joining to Raksaul, India, dry port of Nepal and India.

Nepal oil corporation in Amalekhganj, Dabur Nepal in Bara District, Unilever Limited in Hetauda, Terai bottlers Nepal in Chitwan and other several industries are in Narayani Zone and play leading role in national economy.

Important cities and towns

Some important cities and towns are Birganj, Parwanipur, Jitpur, Alau, Hetauda, Bharatpur, Narayanghat, Kalaiya, and Gaur.

Miscellaneous

Narayani hosts Nepal's oldest and most famous national park: Chitwan National Park (932 km²), considered to be one of Asia's richest nature reserves, renowned for its Bengal tigers and the Indian white rhinoceros. To the southeast the park is complemented by the Parsa Wildlife Reserve with another 499 km².

Narayani is one of the few zones that was left relatively untouched by the Maoist insurgency. It is a relatively prosperous zones of Nepal with a trading market with India whose effect can be easily seen in the border town of Birganj, the capital of this zone.